UNLESS YOU WILL

The other weekend I went to an exhibition opening and whilst enjoying a glass of champagne and the paintings around me I tried to imagine a world without art. I simply couldn’t, or better said, I wouldn’t let myself imagine such a depressing world. Art is varied and whilst we all have such different tastes it is simply a necessity. Every time I think of giving up – I imagine my world without my cameras… and without art – and I think I would have to go and see a psychologist instead, but I prefer looking through the view finder and creating to sitting on a couch.

This month I invited five artists who could not be more different in their style of photography, but each one of them delighted my eyes and heart in a different way. They all use their BW photography as an entrance to unknown worlds. Worlds of mystery, beauty, delight and joy – time and time again. They are completely different in details and are engaging us in a distinctive development of their ideas. Their simplicity transforms into something memorable and creates a possibility. So to finish off this great year I invited

Paula McCartney
Roger Ballen
Rodney Smith
Rhondal McKinney
Michelle Kloehn

Why did I make it an exclusive BW issue? In the middle of the year, I spent a couple of days in Rome and stayed with Fabio Severo. His knowledge of photography and BW inspired me no end and I invited him to write the foreword, to share his knowledge on this subject from a different point of view.

You’ll find the new issue here. There won’t be an UYW edition in January as I will need some time to concentrate on my work and then go to a workshop in January with Todd Hido and Bruce Gilden in NZ.